Station Name: PANT GLAS

[Source: Les Fifoot & Paul Wright]


Date opened: June 1872
Location: South side of the Pant Glas to Bwlch-derwin road.
Company on opening: London & North Western Railway
Date closed to passengers: 7.1.1957
Date closed completely: 7.1.1957
Company on closing: British Railways (London Midland Region)
Present state: Degraded remains of platform can still be seen and a brick hut that was built in 1956 to provide cover for the lever frame is extant.
County: Caernarvonshire
OS Grid Ref: SH468472
Date of visit: 25.5.2012

Notes: Pant Glas station was situated on the Menai Bridge – Afon Wen line which opened in stages between 1852 and 1871. It was in a sparsely populated area west of the Caernarfon and Porthmadog Road. On 29 July 1862 the Carnarvonshire Railway (CR) was authorised to build a line between Caernarfon and Afon Wen. In October 1866 the largely completed CR was inspected, but its opening was not approved until 2 September 1867 by which time all work was finished.

Wen and by December 1895 there were five up and five down trains on weekdays with no trains on Sundays. In 1912 the station name became simply Pant Glas. By July 1922 the train service from Pant Glas had increased to seven up but decreased to only four down Monday-to-Friday as shown in the table below. There was an additional up train on Saturdays.

Up Trains (Menai Bridge direction) July 1922 Destination Down Trains (Afon Wen direction) July 1922 Destination
7.24am (Saturdays Only) Bangor 9.47am Afon Wen
9.59am Bangor 12.24pm Afon Wen
11.27am Bangor 5.47pm Afon Wen
2.18pm Bangor (With through coaches to London Euston) 7.56pm Afon Wen
4.31pm Bangor    
6.07pm Bangor    
7.26pm Bangor    
9.32pm Carnarvon    

On 1 January 1923 Pant Glas became part of the London Midland & Scottish Railway (LMS). By 1928 they were running nine up and five down trains on weekdays. A few years later in the summer of 1932 there were nine up and six down trains. With the outbreak of the Second World War an emergency timetable was introduced from 11 September 1939, and Pant Glas had only three trains in each direction on Monday-to-Saturday. The service was improved from 1 January 1940 when six trains ran in each direction on Monday-to-Saturday.

On 1 January 1948 Pant Glas became part of the British Railways London Midland Region. The summer 1948 timetable showed seven up and seven down services Monday-to-Friday as seen in the table below. On Saturdays there were six up and seven down.

Up Trains (Menai Bridge direction) Summer 1948 Destination Down Trains (Afon Wen direction) Summer 1948 Destination
8.32am (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 6.49am Afon Wen
8.40am (Saturdays Only ) Bangor 9.57am Afon Wen
11.41am (Saturdays Only ) Manchester Exchange 1.15pm Afon Wen
4.18pm (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 3.49pm (Saturdays Excepted) Afon Wen
4.28pm (Saturdays Only ) Bangor 4.10pm (Saturdays Only) Afon Wen
5.39pm (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 5.05pm (Saturdays Excepted) Afon Wen
5.49pm (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 5.39pm (Saturdays Only ) Afon Wen
7.33pm Bangor 6.28pm (Saturdays Excepted) Afon Wen
9.12pm Bangor 6.35pm (Saturdays Only ) Afon Wen
10.17pm Bangor 9.00pm Afon Wen

In 1939 Billy Butlin built a holiday camp at Penychain on the former Cambrian line to the west of Afon Wen. Due to the war it did not open for holidaymakers until the summer season of 1947
although it was used during the war by the Royal Navy. The opening of the holiday camp brought a lot of extra traffic in the form of holiday specials to the Menai Bridge – Afon Wen line during the summer months, and the specials were much longer than the routine service trains. On 2 June 1952 Pant Glas was closed to goods, and it is likely that the siding would
have been lifted shortly after.

Scheduled services had improved by the mid 1950s. The summer timetable for 1955 showed seven up and seven down trains Monday-to-Saturday as seen in the table below.

Up Trains (Menai Bridge direction) Summer 1955 Destination Down Trains (Afon Wen direction) Summer 1955 Destination
8.28am (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 6.30am Pwllheli
8.41am (Saturdays Only ) Llandudno Junction 9.59am Afon Wen
11.15am (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 12.26pm (Saturdays Excepted) Pwllheli
11.39am (Saturdays Only ) Manchester Exchange 12.31pm (Saturdays Only ) Pwllheli
2.31pm Bangor 1.15pm (Saturdays Excepted) Afon Wen
4.19pm (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 1.40pm (Saturdays Only ) Pwllheli
4.21pm (Saturdays Only ) Bangor 3.49pm (Saturdays Excepted) Pwllheli
5.41pm Bangor 4.13pm (Saturdays Only ) Afon Wen
7.31pm Bangor 6.33pm Pwllheli
8.30pm (Saturdays Excepted) Bangor 8.02pm (Saturdays Excepted) Afon Wen
8.39pm (Saturdays Only ) Bangor 8.14pm (Saturdays Only ) Afon Wen

At the north end of the platform a lever frame controlled the level crossing and the signals that protected it. They were in the open and therefore exposed to the elements. In summer 1956 British
Railways built a simple brick hut with a flat roof over the lever frame to afford the frame and its operator some protection. The work was also probably carried out to facilitate the closure of Pant Glas station which was not well situated and therefore not well used. On 7 January 1957 British Railways withdrew the passenger service. A railway employee was still required to
operate the level crossing, but the lever frame hut provided shelter and therefore the station building could be demolished; it had gone within a year of the station closing.

Passenger and goods services continued to pass through Pant Glas until 7 December 1964 when the line closed completely. The track remained in situ for a few years after closure.

The station house passed into private ownership and, for a period, the site was used by an aviation museum. This had gone by 2012, but a holiday caravan was available for rent at the site. The lever frame hut was still standing in May 2012.

Tickets from Michael Stewart route map drawn by Alan Young

Sources:

To see the other stations on the Menai Bridge - Afonwen line click on the station name: Menai Bridge, Treborth, Port Dinorwic (1st), Port Dinorwic (2nd), Griffiths Crossing, Caernarvon, Carnarvon Pant, Dinas, Llanwnda, Groeslon, Penygroes, Brynkir, Ynys, Llangybi, Chwilog & Afonwen

Looking north at Pant Glas in 1947. The simple facilities of the station are clearly illustrated. At this time the goods siding was still in use and a wagon can be seen parked on it beyond the level crossing.


Pant Glas shown on a 1900 map.


During the winter of 1947 railway staff attempt to clear snow from the line at Pant Glas station. Pant Glas was located at one of the highest points on the Menai Bridge - Afon Wen line and was therefore very exposed to the elements.


Pant Glas in June 1956 seen from a train on route to Afon Wen. Of interest are the bricks, sand and cement that can be seen on the platform near the station nameboard. The materials had been delivered to the station for the construction of a hut over the lever frame. The lever frame can be seen behind the woman on the platform.
H C Casserley

Pant Glas after closure in the late 1950s. A DMU is seen passing through the station on route to Pwllheli. DMUs were introduced onto the line from 1958.
P
hoto by W A Camwell

Looking south at Pant Glas station from the station entrance in the mid 1970s. Access was by the small gate which was next to the level crossing.
Photo from John Mann collection

Pant Glas station seen looking south on 25 May 2012.
P
hoto by Les Fifoot
Click on thumbnail to enlarge


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for more pictures of Pant Glas station


 

 

 

[Source: Les Fifoot & Paul Wright]




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